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A review by rjordan19
His Wicked Whispers by Jen Bradlee
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
3.75
Overall: 3.5 rounded to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑 (I felt like I was expecting these to be longer – they felt abrupt to me after the buildup)
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Humor: Not much
Perspective: third person from the hero and heroine and a side character Henry
More character focused or plot focused? plot
How did the speed of the story feel? medium
When mains are first on page together: pretty soon in, end of chapter 1, or about 6%
Cliffhanger: It ends that it’s obvious there will be more to come but it does feel happy for now.
Epilogue: No
Format: bought e-book
Mains: this is a M/F relationship with a cishet hero and heroine
Why I chose this book: Kirsten Blacketer did a takeover in A Love Less Ordinary and I was curious about her alternate pen name!
Should I read in order?
This is book 1 of this series, but yes read it in order!
Basic plot:
Crispin is banished from the castle and sent to a learn a lesson when he is saved by the Lady of the Forest.
Give this a try if you want:
- 1442 time period
- fantasy-ish – Meradin setting (a country set connecting Ireland, Scotland and England)
- you want a jerk antihero that must do the work to turn around his character
- brief heroine nurses hero back to health
- road trip
- secret identity
- Robin Hood vibes – from the heroine
- royalty
- chastity belt (this is the first romance I think I’ve read with one!)
- mid to higher steam with some light kink elements (some praise, light edging, blindfolds, elements of control/punishment) – 4 full scenes with one of those including (view spoiler)
Ages:
- heroine is 19, didn’t catch hero
First line:
The hooded man stepped from the dark forest shadows.
My thoughts:
Oof am I conflicted about this one! First of all – don’t expect the full story in this one book. It does end with a happy for now and doesn’t have a dramatic cliffhanger which is nice but the hero starts out as a jerk and is working on his turn around – you see it starting here but I am hoping for more development as the books continue!
There was a lot I liked about this book too – the light kink exploration and steamy scenes were fun, even though I was left wanting to kick the hero a time or two...and I loooooved the chastity belt at play – I was a bit disappointed there wasn’t more of a lingering scene on that because I thought the build up was pretty good.
Overall I am left curious about the rest of this series. I did want the steamy scenes to be a bit more developed? They had pretty good build up but then the actual act felt a bit fast. But I am wondering how Crispin’s character arc plays out and we are left with some plot cliffys we need answers for so I think I will be returning to this at some point.
Few random reading stats for this author
# of books read: Under this author name: 1. Under both this name and Kirsten Blacketer: 3
Average rating: 4.67 stars for all titles (both names)
Favorite book: Death and Desire
Endearments
The hero calls the heroine ‘sweeting’.
Quotes
Ugh it’s so toxic and I fucking love it
She raised her hand to strike him again, and his grip encircled her wrist firmly.
Within a breath, he straddled her thighs, his hand around both wrists, pinning her against the tree. The bark dug into the flesh, pinching against the braces on her forearms. Ruby jerked against his hold, trying to free herself. His grip tightened.
“Get off me,” she ground out between her teeth.
“I told you.” He leaned closer, his breath whispering across her cheek. “You could not take me.”
---
“I am your king.” Chrispin captured her chin in his hand and held her steady, peering into her soul. “Kneel before me.”
Ruby jerked from his grasp and hesitated momentarily before dropping to her knees with a grunt. “If I am for the block, for heaven’s sakes, drop the blade. I have no desire for your riddles and games.”
“Oh, my sweeting, you shall be punished for your crimes; be sure of that.” He sat down on the velvet padded throne. “When you rise, you will do your duty to your king. You shall be mine in every possible way. Surrender to me, Ruby, and I shall give you what you deserve.”
Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.
- violence – a woman at a brothel is hit in the face by a man/4 men attack the hero outside of a brothel
- death
- the hero is a hard character to love – misogynistic and selfish. It’s mentioned he may have impregnated women without thought to the children
- brief mention of a couple that is infertile (they adopt the baby of one of the women that had the prince’s child)
- there’s a mention of heroine possibly being a virgin and equating it to ‘unspoiled goods’
- murder/death on page
- parental death
- remembrance of sibling death in a fire
- confronting your parent’s murderers
Author content warnings? Didn’t catch any
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes, safe sex aspects, consent, pregnancy/child in the story:
Safe sex: hero pulls out in the first scene, but not after
Hows the consent? It’s...questionable. The hero is arrogant and pushy. If you need strong consent in your books I might bypass this one but if you’re okay with strong characters both demanding...you’ll be okay with this. (some dubious consent elements)
Pregnancy/children in story? (Please note this is the best to my memory/note taking. If you see something I missed please feel free to message!) I don't recall any children discussed and no pregnancy in this one.
1% - the start of a scene with the hero and an ‘ale wench’ (whipping) but it’s interrupted
20% - kiss
27% - 🔥 kisses, oral for her, her on top but the heroine binds his hands against his will
“Close your eyes.” Her whispered request made him pause.
“Why?”
“I beg of you.”
The sound of her plea, hoarse and broken, made him relent. Crispin closed his eyes. The soft slide of her fingers teased his flesh as she grabbed his wrists and brought them together. Crispin’s body twitched in anticipation. His eyes flew open at the unrelenting tug of leather tightening around them.
//
“Hush now, wicked girl.” Tristan cupped her breast. “Is this not what you wanted? A man to fuck you, to take you hard and fast without mercy? Would you rather I show you gently, showering you with tenderness and sweet words?” His hand cupped her chin and held her steady as he trailed his mouth along the column of her neck. “Shall I show you the difference?”
40% - 🔥 missionary followed shortly after by anal fingering/heroine self pleasure
“You. Are. Mine. Every fiber of your being belongs to me. Do not avert your gaze.” Her eyes opened wide. “Face your king, your master, your lover. Night after night, I shall treasure you until you shatter from the overwhelming pleasure only I can give you.”
47% - kisses between heroine and Henry
56% - kisses between Henry and another woman that leads to sex though it’s a bit short
59% - sex scene (a bit brief) between Henry and a side characters
71% - mention of hero self pleasure
77% - kisses
89% - 🔥 blindfolded (heroine) when Henry walks in and they both attempt to get her to beg. Oral for her, missionary, bent over the bed sex
”Tell me you want me. Confess your desire. Beg for me.”
99% - 🔥 kisses, fingering for her, him behind her sex
”I should take you right here, bend you over the cool stone, and let your moans of pleasure echo through the bailey.” He pulled her arms down, gripping her wrists in his hands. Spinning her around, he wrapped an arm around her waist and drew her skirts up.
Readability: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑 (I felt like I was expecting these to be longer – they felt abrupt to me after the buildup)
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Humor: Not much
Perspective: third person from the hero and heroine and a side character Henry
More character focused or plot focused? plot
How did the speed of the story feel? medium
When mains are first on page together: pretty soon in, end of chapter 1, or about 6%
Cliffhanger: It ends that it’s obvious there will be more to come but it does feel happy for now.
Epilogue: No
Format: bought e-book
Mains: this is a M/F relationship with a cishet hero and heroine
Why I chose this book: Kirsten Blacketer did a takeover in A Love Less Ordinary and I was curious about her alternate pen name!
Should I read in order?
This is book 1 of this series, but yes read it in order!
Basic plot:
Crispin is banished from the castle and sent to a learn a lesson when he is saved by the Lady of the Forest.
Give this a try if you want:
- 1442 time period
- fantasy-ish – Meradin setting (a country set connecting Ireland, Scotland and England)
- you want a jerk antihero that must do the work to turn around his character
- brief heroine nurses hero back to health
- road trip
- secret identity
- Robin Hood vibes – from the heroine
- royalty
- chastity belt (this is the first romance I think I’ve read with one!)
- mid to higher steam with some light kink elements (some praise, light edging, blindfolds, elements of control/punishment) – 4 full scenes with one of those including (view spoiler)
Ages:
- heroine is 19, didn’t catch hero
First line:
The hooded man stepped from the dark forest shadows.
My thoughts:
Oof am I conflicted about this one! First of all – don’t expect the full story in this one book. It does end with a happy for now and doesn’t have a dramatic cliffhanger which is nice but the hero starts out as a jerk and is working on his turn around – you see it starting here but I am hoping for more development as the books continue!
There was a lot I liked about this book too – the light kink exploration and steamy scenes were fun, even though I was left wanting to kick the hero a time or two...and I loooooved the chastity belt at play – I was a bit disappointed there wasn’t more of a lingering scene on that because I thought the build up was pretty good.
Overall I am left curious about the rest of this series. I did want the steamy scenes to be a bit more developed? They had pretty good build up but then the actual act felt a bit fast. But I am wondering how Crispin’s character arc plays out and we are left with some plot cliffys we need answers for so I think I will be returning to this at some point.
Few random reading stats for this author
# of books read: Under this author name: 1. Under both this name and Kirsten Blacketer: 3
Average rating: 4.67 stars for all titles (both names)
Favorite book: Death and Desire
Endearments
Quotes
Ugh it’s so toxic and I fucking love it
She raised her hand to strike him again, and his grip encircled her wrist firmly.
Within a breath, he straddled her thighs, his hand around both wrists, pinning her against the tree. The bark dug into the flesh, pinching against the braces on her forearms. Ruby jerked against his hold, trying to free herself. His grip tightened.
“Get off me,” she ground out between her teeth.
“I told you.” He leaned closer, his breath whispering across her cheek. “You could not take me.”
---
“I am your king.” Chrispin captured her chin in his hand and held her steady, peering into her soul. “Kneel before me.”
Ruby jerked from his grasp and hesitated momentarily before dropping to her knees with a grunt. “If I am for the block, for heaven’s sakes, drop the blade. I have no desire for your riddles and games.”
“Oh, my sweeting, you shall be punished for your crimes; be sure of that.” He sat down on the velvet padded throne. “When you rise, you will do your duty to your king. You shall be mine in every possible way. Surrender to me, Ruby, and I shall give you what you deserve.”
Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.
- violence – a woman at a brothel is hit in the face by a man/4 men attack the hero outside of a brothel
- death
- the hero is a hard character to love – misogynistic and selfish. It’s mentioned he may have impregnated women without thought to the children
- brief mention of a couple that is infertile (they adopt the baby of one of the women that had the prince’s child)
- there’s a mention of heroine possibly being a virgin and equating it to ‘unspoiled goods’
- murder/death on page
- parental death
- remembrance of sibling death in a fire
- confronting your parent’s murderers
Author content warnings? Didn’t catch any
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes, safe sex aspects, consent, pregnancy/child in the story:
Safe sex:
Hows the consent?
Pregnancy/children in story? (Please note this is the best to my memory/note taking. If you see something I missed please feel free to message!)
1% - the start of a scene with the hero and an ‘ale wench’ (whipping) but it’s interrupted
20% - kiss
27% - 🔥 kisses, oral for her, her on top but the heroine binds his hands against his will
“Close your eyes.” Her whispered request made him pause.
“Why?”
“I beg of you.”
The sound of her plea, hoarse and broken, made him relent. Crispin closed his eyes. The soft slide of her fingers teased his flesh as she grabbed his wrists and brought them together. Crispin’s body twitched in anticipation. His eyes flew open at the unrelenting tug of leather tightening around them.
//
“Hush now, wicked girl.” Tristan cupped her breast. “Is this not what you wanted? A man to fuck you, to take you hard and fast without mercy? Would you rather I show you gently, showering you with tenderness and sweet words?” His hand cupped her chin and held her steady as he trailed his mouth along the column of her neck. “Shall I show you the difference?”
40% - 🔥 missionary followed shortly after by anal fingering/heroine self pleasure
“You. Are. Mine. Every fiber of your being belongs to me. Do not avert your gaze.” Her eyes opened wide. “Face your king, your master, your lover. Night after night, I shall treasure you until you shatter from the overwhelming pleasure only I can give you.”
47% - kisses between heroine and Henry
56% - kisses between Henry and another woman that leads to sex though it’s a bit short
59% - sex scene (a bit brief) between Henry and a side characters
71% - mention of hero self pleasure
77% - kisses
89% - 🔥 blindfolded (heroine) when Henry walks in and they both attempt to get her to beg. Oral for her, missionary, bent over the bed sex
”Tell me you want me. Confess your desire. Beg for me.”
99% - 🔥 kisses, fingering for her, him behind her sex
”I should take you right here, bend you over the cool stone, and let your moans of pleasure echo through the bailey.” He pulled her arms down, gripping her wrists in his hands. Spinning her around, he wrapped an arm around her waist and drew her skirts up.